Heretofore it has been known to utilize alcohols with surfactants.
Representative of such technology are the following patents:
British Pat. No. 854,994 describes a shampoo containing a cationic surface active agent together with either an ampholytic or a nonionic surface active agent in combination with a hair conditioner which can be a fatty alcohol containing 12-30 carbon atoms. Specifically the patent teaches the use of cetyl alcohol, stearyl alcohol, arachidyl alcohol, behenyl alcohol, ricinoleyl alcohol, monocetylether of glycerol, glyceryl monostearate, ethylene glycol monopalmitate, diethylene glycol monostearate, monostearyl ether of ethylene glycol and stearic monoethanolamide.
British Pat. No. 843,379 describes a shampoo composition containing as a surface active agent the sodium salt of N-acyl N-methyl taurine, optionally mixed with the sodium, magnesium or triethanol amine salt of alkyl-sulfuric acid. In this composition there can be used, as a solubilizing agent, an alkylolamide of a fatty acid. There can also be present a branched chain aliphatic dialcohol. There is also suggested the use of a fatty alcohol containing 10-14 carbon atoms to improve the quantity and stability of the foam. However, the surface active agent employed therein is not that defined in the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,449,430 describes a shampoo composition using an amino oxide type surface active agent. There is also included in the disclosed composition, as super-fatting agents, fatty acids, fatty alcohols, fatty esters and lanolin.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,879,231 describes a sprayable aerosol shampoo composition containing, as the detergent, the ammonium salts of sulfated monoglyceride of higher fatty acids, as well as a saturated higher fatty alcohol having 12-16 carbon atoms to improve not only the foam but also the hydroalcoholic solvent characteristics thereof.
Netherlands Pat. No. 73,501 describes the use of 1,2-alkane diols having at least 9 carbon atoms to improve the foam stability of anionic detergents having the formula RX, wherein R is a hydrocarbon radical having more than 7 carbon atoms and X is a sulfuric, sulfonic or carboxylic residue or an acid residue containing an atom of phosphorus. However, this patent does not teach or suggest the use of these 1,2-alkane diols in combination with the surfactants of the present invention.
French Pat. No. 1,489,243 discloses a liquid detergent composition and, in particular, a shampoo composition comprising an aqueous layer and a liquid layer not miscible with water. By agitating these layers a temporary oil-in-water emulsion is created. The composition includes a foam improver and an emulsion destabilizer, the latter being used to insure the temporary nature of the emulsion created by agitating or mixing the respective layers together. As an emulsion destabilizer, there is recommended an aliphatic monoalcohol containing 1-7 carbon atoms or an aliphatic dialcohol containing 2-7 carbon atoms, such as ethylene glycol, propylene glycol or hexylene glycol.
German Pat. No. 700,677 describes the use of dialcohols as anti-foam agents with gelatin, casein and blood albumin.